Am I responsible for the bills that belonged to my deceased mother? 20 Answers as of January 27, 2012

My mother recently passed away and has no assets, trust or will. Are her children responsible for her bills (medical, ambulance, credit card)? I have only notified her creditors of her death and she has received bills from creditor that have turned it over to legal departments and probate departments. She also has a large nursing home bill and her medical was pending when she passed away so I dont know how to proceed with that. Also we have one joint account that I paid her bills through and there is nothing left in that account.

Ask a Local Attorney. 100% Anonymous. Free Answers.

You are not personally responsible for your Mother's debts unless you agreed to be responsible (joint account, join credit card, co-signer or personal guarantee). Also, if your Mother has any assets to inherit, her bills and other debts will need to be paid first before the assets can be distributed. This is a procedure that is monitored and must be filed with your local Probate Court.

No. You are not responsible for your mother's debts. Creditors and collection agencies often pressure family members into paying the debts of a decedent, but you have no legal responsibility for those debts. Your mother's estate has the obligation. In most cases it is the best course of action to be able to settle her estate properly is to file a probate case. Probate not only deals with the proper distribution of a decedent's assets, it also settles all debt obligations of the decedent as well. Meeting with an attorney to discuss the specifics of your mother's estate and how best to proceed would be well worth any consultation fee you would pay.

If you signed as a responsible person on her accounts then you could be. If you received assets from her you could be responsible up to the value of the assets that you recently received. If the answer to both of those questions is "no," the you cannot be held responsible. If you answered "yes" to either or both, you should seek legal counsel.

Her children are not directly responsible for your mother's debts. To the extent that you received assets as a result of her passing, creditors might be able to force you to pay. Even though you have no direct liability, in some cases the creditors will try to convince you to pay; don't without consulting first with a probate lawyer.

In Florida, neither a spouse nor the decedent's children can be held personally liable for the debts of the decedent, so long as the spouse or children did not sign a document accepting personal responsibility.

No. Do not make any payments that could be interpreted as your taking responsibility. You nor your family members are not responsible to pay the bills, unless you signed something personally saying you would pay. Ignore the creditors other than to tell them she is deceased with no assets.

Your mother's estate is responsible for paying her debts. If there are insufficient assets in her estate to pay all of her debts, unless the debt is joint such as a co-signed loan, you have no personal obligation to pay for your mother's debts. Some creditors and collection agencies will imply that you as a relative have a legal obligation to pay; however, this is a collection tactic and is simply untrue. Where the estate is insolvent, Wisconsin Statutes section 859.25 specifies the priority in which debts and expenses are to be applied: 1. Costs and expenses of administering the estate. 2. Reasonable funeral and burial expenses. 3. Provisions for the family under certain limited circumstances. 4. Reasonable and necessary expenses of the last sickness, including compensation of persons attending your mother. 5. All debts and taxes owed to the government. 6. Wages due to employees earned within 3 months before the date of death. 7. Property assigned to a surviving spouse. 8. All other claims. You should explain to your mother's creditors that there are no assets in her estate available to pay and supply any documentation requested by the State of Wisconsin with regard to her nursing home care expenses.

In Kentucky, heirs are not personally responsible for their deceased parent's bills. Those debts can only be satisfied out of her estate and you should not take personal responsibility to pay anything out of your own pocket unless you have personally signed documents obligating you to pay. However, in the instance where you may be the only heir and there are just a few small debts that will certainly be satisfied by the assets you stand to inherit, it is not wrong to go ahead and pay those to prevent interest, fees, and penalties from accruing.

Typically, when someone dies with unsecured debts outstanding but with no money in the estate, the creditor does not get paid. Absent unusual circumstances, you are not liable for those debts. An account held jointly with rights of survivorship passes to the joint owner automatically upon the death of the other joint owner. There are vey few instances in which a creditor can collect on that type of account. You should sit down with an attorney to discuss this matter.

Unless you signed as guarantor on any of these accounts, you do not have personalliability for the debts of a parent at their death. If you open an estate,then assets that are part of the estate, are subject to the creditors filing claims. If your parent had no assets left, if the house if heavily mortgaged or has a lien fromMedicaid or a nursing home, then you willlikely not open an estate and simply walk away. Again, if you guaranteed her bills with the nursing home, then that would be different. Do not let creditors guilt you, or shame you into paying her bills out of your pocket.

As a general rule, children are not responsible, unless they signed or authorized the debts. It is very important that neither you nor the other children talk with the creditors or collectors on the phone at all. (Ifthey call, hang up). Send them one letter (certified return receipt), with a death certificate enclosed saying "I do not owe this debt. It is not mine and the debtor has died, leaving no assets or estate. I am aware of no probate. Pursuant to the Federal Fair Debt Collection Act and other laws, you are forbidden from ever calling or writing me again, and further attempts to contact me may result in litigation against you for the wrongful contact."

No, the heirs are not responsible for the debts of the deceased UNLESS those debts were guaranteed or co-signed, or unless the heirs took assets from the deceased that could have been used to pay the debts.

Ask a Local Attorney

Disclaimer: The information provided on this site is not legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or should be formed by use of the site. The attorney listings on the site are paid attorney advertisements. Your access of/to and use of this site is subject to additional Supplemental Terms.